EDITORIALIn reaction to unjustified criticism levelled at us by the then management of the company Croatian Forests Ltd, we highlighted the multiple role of this column in Forestry Journal 7-8/2014. Among other things, we stressed that the Editorial Board used this column to communicate “the word of the forestry profession” to the readers. Considering the broad and comprehensive nature of forests and forestry, we also tried to impress on those in politics and forest economy who were willing to listen the obvious fact that Croatian forests represent exceptional wealth and that this wealth should be managed on strictly scientific and professional principles. We went on to remind our readers of some other topics that we discussed, and we made a list of all the volumes where these topic could be found. Every year, Volumes 1-2 of the Forestry Journal bring fourth the Annual Content, in which all those interested can find all the topics discussed in the column. After browsing through the annual contents of the issues from the last 4-5 years and reading about the different topics, we may well ask ourselves if the word of the profession was adhered to at least in the main segments or if we were just “flogging a dead horse”. It would be best if our readers, and particularly those responsible for the current state of the profession, answered this question themselves; if unwilling to speak out loudly, let them say it to the mirror. Yet, the vast majority keeps silent, while those responsible react furiously to our criticism, but do not provide any counter-arguments. There are but two things we can do now: renew our search for the answers to the questions, or “close down” this column. For example, in the new Forest Act that is under way, the General Provisions, article 3, paragraph 4, follow the National Forest Strategy and the National Forest Programme. Article 3, paragraph 3 of the proposed Act mentions the “implementation of the principles of sustainable forest management aimed at achieving the present and future fulfilment of the ecological-commercial and social function at the local, national and global level, taking into consideration the socio-economic importance of forests and their contribution to rural development”. In addition to sustainable forest management and the multipurpose role of forests, the text goes on to mention the efficient use of resources, and article 4 lists non-market forest functions. As we can see, it is all stated loud and clear, but do we adhere to these principles or do we disregard these principles in favour of classical profit and cut down on the amount of activities needed to maintain forests in an optimal condition and ensure all of their non-market functions? How is it possible then, that in spite of the repeated statements of the importance of forest functions, we have failed to convince the public that the obligation and duty to finance, at least partially, non-market forest functions does not fall only on forester but on the whole society? There was an objection to article 65 (1), which states that those with an annual income less than 1,000.000 kuna should be exempt from paying a non-market forest functions fee in the amount of 0.0265 % of the annual income. The Minister then raised this minimum to 3,000.000 kuna, and then reduced the amount of the collected fee designated to science from 5 % to 1%. We only presume that it was done to justify the epithet of Croatia being the Land of Knowledge! Regarding the efficient use of resources as prescribed by the National Forest Strategy, there are no advances in this respect because we continue to act irrationally, inefficiently and contrary to market laws. Article 16 (7) of the Law binds institutions responsible for the management of state-owned forests to sell wood assortments in public bids, but the same does not apply to the public forest owner (Croatian Forests Ltd). They say, “we have raised the price of wood assortments by 5 % on average”, but then they give the “finalists” a bonus of 25 %. Which finalists, and who will compensate forest administrations for the losses incurred? There are almost no real finalists. The public television praises exports achieved by the wood industry, but only reluctantly do they admit that this export includes mainly raw wood material and semi-finished products with low additional value - we have seen no furniture in the form of cabinets, beds, tables and other pieces, only upholstered pieces and sporadic bus seats that pretend to be the finished goods of the wood industry. All the above was confirmed recently in a television interview with Mr Kardum, director of “Emmezeta”, who, when asked if there was a possibility to sell Croatian furniture in their shops, answered; “What furniture? There is none”! People would say - “someone is loony here”. Yet, wood assortments - our national treasure - are being mercilessly squandered just so that private pockets can be lined. They say they protect small sawmill owners, and yet no control is made of how many people they employ, what the employee age and educational profile is, and for whom sawmill goods are produced. Definitely not for the sawmill stock market, since it does not exist, just as the once advertised fish stock market does not exist either. Sawmill products are mainly manufactured for the Near East markets, where they achieve minimal added value. As for the production of wood pallets amounting to 1.2 % of world production, something that the Wood Cluster is bragging about, the real question should be: which raw wood material is used for their production and what would happen if the cost of drying the raw material were not compensated for by the acquisition of wood assortments at non-market prices? Regarding the production of parquet, the so-called “processing” product, we have already given our opinion on this issue on several occasions. <br>Editorial Board

SummarySalvage cutting is a frequent operation to remedy the dieback of silver fir trees (Abies alba Mill.), which results in reduced stand canopy density and formation of forest gaps. This study was conducted in the beech-fir forest range of mountainous Croatia. The aim of the study was to determine microclimate conditions and natural regeneration in large and small forest gaps. Microclimate elements were measured and the density of plants from natural regeneration determined within forest gaps, in forest gap edge areas, and in control plots. Soil temperatures were significantly affected by changes in forest gap sizes with respect to the values of air temperatures, and were highest within the gaps as compared to gap edge areas and control forest stands. Microclimate had a significant affect on the number of small seedlings of silver fir and common beech in the large forest gaps, while this was not the case for the small forest gaps.

SummaryThe concentration of photosynthetic pigments (chlorophylls and carotenoids) in leaves of forest trees is a good indicator of the photosynthetic efficiency, level of nutrition with nitrogen and autumn leaf senescence. Thus the photosynthetic pigment concentrations is one of the most significant parameters related to the physiological status of plant. Change in pigment concentrations of leaves indicate presence of environmental stress. Well-timed detection of environmental stress play a crucial role in preventing damage on seedlings and saplings in forest nurseries and wood mass production in forest cultures and plantations. Traditional methods for determining the concentrations of photosynthetic pigments represent an obstacle to continuous monitoring concentrations of photosynthetic pigment in leaves of forest trees, primarily because they are relatively expensive, long lasting and require destruction of plant material. However, portable optical chlorophyll meters such as CCM-200 (Opti-Sciences, Tyngsboro, Massachusetts, USA) and SPAD-502 (Minolta Camera Co., Osaka, Japan) is a reliable alternative to traditional laboratory methods. To use chlorophyll meters as a tool for estimating photosynthetic pigment concentrations in leaves, it is necessary to construct regression equations (calibration equations) that reliably describe the relationships between the relative index of the total chlorophyll content in leaves (CCI) and the total pigment concentrations in leaves, determined by standard laboratory methods.In the present study, we set up experiment to establish the ability of the hand-held CCM-200 chlorophyll meter to accurately estimate the content of the photosynthetic pigments in leaves of Quercus robur L. with contrast level of soil moisture. The objectives of the present work were: (i) determine whether the long-lasting drought period significantly influences the relationship between the CCI obtined by CCM-200 and the concentration of photosynthetic pigments (total chlorophyll and carotenoid); (ii) construct calibration equations for non-destructive estimation of photosynthetic pigments in Q. robur leaves; (iii) to analyse the improvement estimation of photosynthetic pigments concentration when CCI was corrected with specific leaf mass.The research was carried out during the year 2015 on 60 two-years old plants grown in the greenhouse located in the Croatian Forestry Institute Jastrebarsko. Plant material was grown in 50 liter containers previously filled with soil originating from a natural oak stand. In the spring of the 2015, at the beginning of the study the mean height of investigated plants was 23.9 ± 4.8 cm.During the study, plant material was exposure to different level of soil moisture. In control treatment soil water content was kept above field capacity, while in drought treatment plants were exposed to water reduction during 112 days (1st of April – 21st of July). In second part of growing season (22nd of July – 22nd of October) in both treatments soil water content was kept above field capacity (Figure 1). Calibration equations, that describe relationship between relative chlorophyll content index measured with chlorophyll meter and actual photosynthetic pigment concentrations in sampled leaves (laboratory determined) at the end of growing season (27th of October), were constructed for both treatments (Table 2 and 3; Figure 4 and 5). Obtined results show that parameters of calibration equations were not affected by drought treatment (Table 4). Therefore, when using appropriate calibration equations, clorophyll meter CCM-200 can be considered as reliable tool for non-destructive estimation of total chlorophylls and carotenoids in Q. robur leaves, regardless of different soil water regimes during the growing season. Additionaly, this research confirmed that it is possible to improve the estimation of actual photosynthetic pigment concentration by using chlorophyll content index corrected with specific leaf mass (Table 2 and 3; Figure 4 and 5).

SummaryThe “green oak” is a well-known specific individual oak tree of unknown origin growing near Zadar in Croatia. Depending on the authors, it was described either as a hybrid taxon between Quercuscerris L. and Q. ilex L. (named Q. × viridis Trinajstić) or alternatively as a presumed hybrid between Q. cerris and Q. suber L. To finally resolve the origin of this taxon, we performed molecular analyses and investigated the phylogenetic relationships between the “green oak” and other closely related oak taxa from the surrounding area, including all putative parental species. A total of 16 individuals representing nine Quercus L. taxa were investigated based on both plastid (trnK-matK and trnH-psbA) and nuclear (5.8S + ITS2) DNA sequence variation. Placement of the green oak in the phylogenetic relationships between the studied oak taxa does not support Q. ilex as one of its parental species but rather indicates that this taxon is in fact Q. crenata Lam., reaffirming previous alternative hypothesis that the green oak is a hybrid between Q. cerris and Q. suber. We therefore confirm the presence of Q. crenata in the Croatian flora and based on historical literature survey, we explore and discuss the implication of its occurrence and possible hybridogenic origin in the Croatian territory.

SummaryIn economic and biological terms (rapid growth, the ability to produce seeds at an early age, etc.) Pinus brutia Ten. is one the most important forest tree species in Turkey. Considerable progress has been made in Pinus brutia Ten. breeding program and both phenotypical and according to the results of progeny trials, totaling 615-hectare seed orchardshas been established. Pinus brutia Ten. seed orchardshas reached 43% of the total orchard area and covered the largest area.To acquire information on the management of seed orchards, top pruning has been carried out on three Pinus brutia Ten. seed orchards of different ages (old, middle-aged and young). Two top pruning regimes were applied in these three seed orchards, once in 2008 to the old orchard, while a single topping regime was applied in 2008 and 2012 to the middle-aged and young orchards.Each year, the height, diameter at breast height, and bi-directional crown diameter were measured, and all conelets and cones on ramets were counted beforeand after pruning.At the end of four years, control ramets in old and young seed orchards had higher values of height, diameter at breast height, and volume indexcompared to the middle-aged orchard. On the other hand, even though the control ramets in the middle-aged seed orchard reached a greater height, pruned ramets reached a greater volume index and diameter at breast height. While the height differences observed between control and pruned ramets in all seed orchards at the beginning eventually decreased, it was observed that the heights of pruned ramets grew proportionally larger.No difference was founded between the control and pruned ramets in terms of cone and conelet production. Pruning intervals and regimes varied in old, middle-aged and young seed orchards, and it was acknowledgedthat top pruning could be used for old, middle-aged and young seed orchard managements.

SummaryThe invasive species was first discovered in 2017 year in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Vareš municipality, on trees of mountain elm. It was not researched biology of pest. It was discovered characteristic zig-zag defoliation of larvae, and found female adult. No partial or full defoliation caused by this pest was found, and the defoliation was determined on individual leaves. It is needed further researchs on the biology, harm and spread of pest on elm in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

SummaryGeometric distortions of historical forestry maps represent the main obstacle in process of map integration with other geospatial data. The effects of the practical applications of various methods for removing the map deformations were investigated thoroughly on the tested sheet of the old forestry map of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Software for the automatic computation of the rectangular coordinates of map grid ticks was developed by authors (figure 2). Significant improvement of transformation quality is achieved by the inclusion of all common points from the map coordinate grid (figure 3) in the base used in transformation (table 1 and figure 5). Regarding the ability to eliminate the nonuniform and unequally distributed distortions in the map content, the analysis of various geometric transformation methods revealed that the best results of the overall accuracy of map transformation were achieved by use of the complex polynomial and locally sensitive models (figures 6 and 7). Relationship between the Accuracyrvalues and the polynomial degree used, can be modeled by a polynomial function y = 0.502x2 – 5.483x + 22.17 (figure 8). A fifth-order polynomial transformation, based on 81 tie points, results in a 95% accuracy of 1.5 mm · M.

SummaryThe genus Paulownia, family Paulowniaceae, contains about nine species and several natural hybrids which are native to China. Some important species in this genus include P. albiflora, P. australis, P. catalpifolia, P. elongata, P. fargesii, P. fortunei, P. kawakamii and P. tomentosa. More recently, numerous hybrids have been obtained by hybridisation for the purpose of increasing the rate of growth and increment, as well as develop resistance to low temperatures. In Croatia, the most commonly propagated are the Paulownia hybrids Shan Tong and 9501, although there are also other hybrids obtained by selections in some “in vitro” laboratory. The goal of this article is to explore different propagation methods of Paulownia in the nature, the problem of its invasiveness and nursery propagation by means of autovegetative macropropagation method from root cuttings. There are three phases of rooting the cuttings: initiation, induction and expression. There is direct and indirect induction. The most sensitive moment is the connecting of the conductive elements of small roots with parts of a cell. The success of root development on the cutting depends on the physiological status of the parent plant, sugar quantity, auxin metabolism, mineral nutrition, phenol metabolism and others. There are four stages of Paulownia propagation from root cuttings: digging out and finishing of root cuttings from the parent stock, pricking out the cuttings into plastic containers filled with potting media, rooting the cuttings and the establishment of a new parent stocks. The Paulownia root cuttings Shang Tong and 9501 were taken with regard to the polarity in the following way; the bottom (distal) part of the root was cut at an angle of 45 degrees and the upper (proximal) part was cut at an angle of 90 degrees. The cuttings were divided into short (8 cm) and long (15 cm) cuttings. Each group of the cuttings was additionally divided into thin and thick cuttings, making the difference visible to the naked eye. A total of 15 cuttings were taken from each group for the purpose of our research. In the experiment, one part of the cuttings was pricked out in a heated greenhouse 7 days after root excavation and the other part of the cuttings was pricked out after drying at room temperature in the plant growth chamber. The first group of 60 cuttings was taken on December 14th and pricked out in perforated 5.0 l plastic bags filled with ready-made Klasman Steckmedium rooting medium. The rooting medium was enriched with 3g/l of Osmocote Exact Standard 5-6M formulation 15-9-12+2MgO+TE, the 3rd generation of controlled release fertilizers. The cuttings were not treated with a phytohormone or rot prevention fungicides. The cuttings were pricked out in such a way that the upper surface of the cut at 90 degrees was at the level of the potting medium. The second group of 60 cuttings was dried in the Kambić RK-980 CH growth chamber. The chamber temperature was 21 °C and the relative air humidity was 40%, which equalled storage of the cuttings under constant room conditions. The cuttings were kept in the growth chamber for 5 days. Pricking out was performed on December 12th, 2017 in the same way as the first group of cuttings. The first rooting registration was done on February 19th, 2018, which in the case of the first group means 67 days after pricking out and for the second group 60 days after pricking out. Drying the Paulownia Shang Tong hybrid cuttings increased the rooting success in all the variants, and was particularly evident in thick cuttings 8 cm long and thick cuttings 15 cm long. Selecting thicker cuttings and drying them at room temperature for 5 days can be recommended because this procedure yields a significantly higher rooting percentage. Excessive moisture in the potting medium used for the Paulownia root cuttings negatively affects root system development. It was also confirmed that drying the Paulownia hybrid 9501 cuttings increases the rooting success in all the variants, with the exception of thin cuttings 8 cm long, where the rooting percentage was the same (33 %). Thick cuttings 8 cm long present a particularly interesting case, where not one single cutting which was not dried took root, while as many as 80 % of cuttings took root after being dried. Taking thicker cuttings of the Paulownia 9501 hybrid and drying them at room temperature for 5 days can be recommended, because this procedure yields a significantly higher rooting percentage. The rooting percentage of cuttings without drying would certainly be higher if the cuttings had been taken immediately after the root system was dug out with a dredge, as recommended in practice. In this case, the minimal air temperatures of -4 °C and -5.6 °C caused the root system to freeze. The average minimal air temperature in the period from December 8th to December 14th was only 0.8 °C. When the root is frozen, the bark is separated from the wood manually, and such cuttings either decay or sprouting from the lower adventitious buds. The root cuttings of the Paulownia hybrids Shan Tong and 9501 should be taken immediately after the root system of the parent plant is dug out, while the average air temperature should be above 0 °C. Our studies confirmed the harmful effect of temperatures from -4 °C and -5.6 °C on root cuttings, as such temperatures caused the cuttings to freeze. The best calendar period for digging out root cuttings, depending on the year, should be in March. It was confirmed that the root cuttings of Paulownia hybrid 9501 can also be rooted in ordinary water under controlled conditions (no light, constant temperature of 20 °C). The cuttings were placed in “in vitro” Snijders Scientific B.V., ECD01E germination table on December 21st, 2017, and were photographed on February 21st, 2018, or 62 days after being placed in the water.